Burnside Lawn Tennis Club was once one of the most well known and thriving tennis clubs in the West of Scotland. It’s been incredibly sad to see its gradual decline over recent years due to deteriorating courts and dwindling membership. It was with a heavy heart that Burnside Bowling Club (BBC) had to close the courts in late 2014 due to safety concerns.

 

   are working hard to return these courts to their former glory!

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Burnside Lawn Tennis Club was once one of the most well known and thriving tennis clubs in the West of Scotland. It’s been incredibly sad to see its rapid decline over recent years due to deteriorating courts and dwindling membership. It was with a heavy heart that Burnside Bowling Club (BBC) had to close the courts in late 2014 due to safety concerns.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel!

Rutherglen Lawn Tennis Club, located just a (misguided) Andy Murray lob away on Viewpark Drive, want to return these courts to their former glory. Our membership has risen from 100 to 230 in five years and we’re now bursting at the seams. Rather than closing membership and establishing a waiting list, we want to expand into these derelict courts to give us the extra space we so badly need and use our passion and energy to further increase participation in tennis whilst securing the long term future of this celebrated local facility.

We’ve agreed to lease the courts from BBC on a long-term basis, with these courts being absorbed into RLTC and the expanded facility operating as a single, fully-integrated club managed by us. This lease will go live once we have the necessary funds in place to upgrade these courts to the same surface and standard as our four existing courts at Viewpark Drive, and we’ve an 18 month period of exclusivity to secure the required money.

We’ve got a mountain to climb, but we’re up for the challenge!

We hope to fund the courts through a combination of existing RLTC funds, grants and a loan, topped up by fundraising. But for us there is much more to this project than money. We want to win the hearts and minds of the local community by working to save these courts in a way that benefits everyone, whilst respecting and remembering the proud history of Burnside Lawn Tennis Club.

That’s why we want to encourage anyone with an interest in saving these courts to get involved. Whether you’re a former member who’d love the chance to play on lovely courts again; a neighbour or passer-by who’s tired at looking out onto the sad, lifeless courts; or a proud Burnsider keen to secure the long-term future of one of its most well known assets; we want to hear from you! So, click here to sign-up to have your say and keep up-to date with all the latest news, offers etc.

In these times of austerity grants and loans are much harder to come by and we hope the Burnside community will show their usual generosity to help make this dream come true. Any donations, large or small will make a huge difference to this project and are hugely appreciated. Donations can be made on a no-risk basis by clicking here. If we aren’t ultimately successful we will refund all donations in full.

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Donate today to help save the Burnside Courts

We plan to fund the rejuvenation of the Burnside courts through a combination of existing RLTC funds, grants and a loan and we’ve made significant progress already. However you can help us achieve this dream better and faster by making a donation via one of the following options:

Option 1:
Bank Transfer
  1. Make an on-line transfer to the following Rutherglen LTC Bank Account:
       Sort Code: 80-22-60
       Account Number: 13793669
  2. Ensure your name and words “RTS Donation” are included in your reference.
  3. Register your donation by completing this form - this is essential to allow us to refund your donation if we are ultimately unsuccessful with project.
  4. We will e-mail you with a receipt to confirm we have received your donation and will keep you up to date with our progress.
Option 2:
Cash or Cheque 
  1. Post or hand-in cash/cheque to “Rutherglen Lawn Tennis Club” c/o Gareth Ellor, Club President, at the following address:
       Gareth Ellor
       25 Viewpark Drive
       Burnside
       G733QE
  2. Register your donation by completing this form or by providing your name, address, e-mail and a contact phone number with your donation - this is essential to allow us to refund your donation if we are ultimately unsuccessful with project.
  3. We will e-mail you with a receipt to confirm we have received your donation and will keep you up to date with our progress.

All donations will be fully refunded if project is ultimately unsuccessful!

Large or small, any donations will be extremely welcome and will make a huge difference to this project

Supporters

The following local businesses are right behind Project #ReturnToSplendour. They’ve all made considerable donations to the project. We’re indebted to them for their support and generosity.


We’re keen to secure the support of further local businesses. If your business would like to make a donation then please e-mail Gareth Ellor. Your donation, big or small, will help us save this celebrated local facility at the heart of the Burnside Community, allowing more people to enjoy tennis. Any donation is made on an entirely no risk basis. If we are not ultimately successful, we will refund your donation in full. In return, we will promote your business as a key supporter of #ReturnToSplendour via our project website, newsletter and high-profile local and social media campaign. In addition, your contribution will be permanently and prominently recognised within the refurbished facility, serving as a long-term legacy of your contribution in making this dream come true.

We’ve received 4 letters of support from the following prominent stakeholders:

Here’s a few snippets…

Reminisce

The following is an adapted and updated version of Burnside’s entry in the West of Scotland Tennis Centenary Handbook (1904 – 2004) complied by Rutherglen LTC’s Honorary President Myra Hunter.

Burnside Lawn Tennis Club established 1909

Situated alongside, and operating as an affiliated section of, Burnside Bowling Club, Burnside Lawn Tennis Club has had a long and varied history. By the thirties the Ladies’ teams were doing well and the first team was playing in Division 2. In the same period the Men’s team were in Division 7. When a Junior Mixed Doubles League was introduced in 1937 Burnside entered a team and they remained in Division 1 until 1953. There were two outstanding juniors in the club at that time, Isobel Vallance and Sylvia Litton. They played each other in the final of the West of Scotland Junior Championships of 1946, with Isobel winning 6-4, 6-2. Together they won the Girls Doubles against Cristine Morrison and Miss N. Roxburgh (Fort Matilda). Isobel completed the triple by winning the Mixed Doubles with John Baird also of Burnside by defeating Mr G. Ferrari (Pollokshields) and Miss Roxburgh. The two girls successfully defended their title in 1947. In 1947 Isobel went on to play at the British Junior Championships at Wimbledon winning the Girls Doubles with Norma Seacy of East of Scotland. This began a career of International play and many representative matches for the West of Scotland. The Men’s teams had to wait some years before they made their mark. In 1980 they won Division 2 (Junior) of the Calcutta Cup and by 1989 they had a team competing within both the Senior and Junior categories, winning both. From 1990 to 1997 the Men’s first team was in the First and Premier Divisions and the Club fielded two other teams. When the courts were upgraded and floodlights installed, the Club was active in fundraising for the benefit of others. In 1991 Burnside Tennis Club raised £1,000 for the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association by having a 24 hour sponsored tennis match when about 100 members took part. In the 1980's and 90's Burnside was such a thriving club that a membership waiting list had to be established. The gents, ladies and junior teams were all competing at a high level in the district leagues – the gents at the highest level. However, from 1998 a number of their best players left for other clubs and the teams spiralled down the leagues as a result. The club’s rapid decline from this point onwards was exacerbated by deteriorating courts and dwindling membership. Airlie and Derek Brown have tried hard to resurrect the club over the last 10 years and hit a peak in 2009, the Club’s centenary year, reaching c100 members. However, with the courts continuing to deteriorate this level of membership was unsustainable without investment in new courts and facilities and wider volunteers to organise open days, coaching, competitions etc. In 2014 the bowlers decided that the courts were no longer safe and closed the courts, winding-up the Tennis Section. Rutherglen LTC have been working closely with Derek & Airlie and the Burnside Bowling Club Committee over the last 18 months to return the courts to their former glory and re-establish Burnside at the forefront of West of Scotland Tennis once again.

One of the key goals of this project is to respect and remember the proud history of Burnside Lawn Tennis Club. So if you know of any interesting stories, facts, achievements etc. or have any photos, the older the better, please get in touch by clicking here. This will allow us to compile a much more authoritative record of the history of Burnside Lawn Tennis Club which will form a solid foundation on which we can record the next (and hopefully long and prosperous) chapter of this celebrated local facility.

Join Us

At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Thursday 9th February, our members voted to save and expand into the derelict courts at Burnside Bowling Club (BBC) using the funding package we’ve secured.
This is a win-win for everyone:


With all funding and planning permission secured and preferred contractors identified, we're thrilled (not to mention relieved) that we can now crack-on with the work. We expect to start site works in March/April and hope to have the courts open by July.

To celebrate this fantastic landmark, we've opened-up a waiting list for membership of the expanded facility. We expect there to be considerable demand, so we're opening up this waiting list to make sure that our biggest supporters don't miss out.

So if you would like to join the expanded facility when the Burnside Courts open, then please sign-up by completing the form below.

In doing this you are committing to taking out a first full year of membership of Rutherglen LTC based on our 2016/2017 Fees which are detailed below.

Don't worry, you don't need to pay anything until the courts open!

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